We haven’t yet seen what Neuralink’s robotic arm looks like—whether it’s a tabletop research device or something that could be attached to a wheelchair and used at home to complete daily tasks.
But it’s clear such a device could be helpful. During Aurbaugh’s livestream he frequently asked other people to do simple things for him, like brush his hair or put on his hat.
@MODDEDQUAD VIA X
And using brains to control robots is definitely possible—although so far only in a controlled research setting. In tests using a different brain implant, carried out at the University of Pittsburgh in 2012, a paralyzed woman named Jan Scheuermann was able to use a robot arm to stack blocks and plastic cups about as well as a person who’d had a severe stroke—impressive, since she couldn’t actually move her own limbs.
There are several practical obstacles to using a robot arm at home. One is developing a robot that’s safe and useful. Another, as noted by Wired, is that the calibration steps to maintain control over an arm that can make 3D movements and grasp objects could be onerous and time consuming.
Vision implant
In September, Neuralink said it had received “breakthrough device designation” from the FDA for a version of its implant that could be used to restore limited vision to blind people. The system, which it calls Blindsight, would work by sending electrical impulses directly into a volunteer’s visual cortex, producing spots of light called phosphenes. If there are enough spots, they can be organized into a simple, pixelated form of vision, as previously demonstrated by academic researchers.
The FDA designation is not the same as permission to start the vision study. Instead, it’s a promise by the agency to speed up review steps, including agreements around what a trial should look like. Right now, it’s impossible to guess when a Neuralink vision trial could start, but it won’t necessarily be this year.
More money
Neuralink last raised money in 2003, collecting around $325 million from investors in a funding round that valued the company at over $3 billion, according to Pitchbook. Ryan Tanaka, who publishes a podcast about the company, Neura Pod, says he thinks Neuralink will raise more money this year and that the valuation of the private company could triple.
Fighting regulators
Neuralink has attracted plenty of scrutiny from news reporters, animal-rights campaigners, and even fraud investigators at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of the questions surround its treatment of test animals and whether it rushed to try the implant in people.
